INFORMATION-SYSTEMS DESIGN DECISIONS IN A GLOBAL VERSUS DOMESTIC CONTEXT

This study was motivated by the existence of two opposing schools of t hought on managing information technology (IT) in a global context. On e study proposes that managing IT in a global context is largely the s ame as managing IT in a domestic context. The other proposes that ther e is a difference. The results from interviews with 65 project manager s, of whom 27 had international management experience, reflect a reali ty that lies somewhere between the two extremes. Using Q-methodology t echniques, the project managers rated the relative importance of 33 it ems for decisions about the distribution of IT applications' hardware, software, and data. Although the most important factors influencing a n application's IT distribution decision appear to hold across both do mestic and global contexts, the global context contributes variability , unfamiliarity, and complexity that cannot be ignored. Compared with their domestic counterparts, project managers with global experience t ended to be more cosmopolitan in their viewpoints, emphasized more loc al units' responsiveness, were more sensitive to power issues at headq uarters as well as in local units, stressed the need for continuous, u ninterrupted 24-hour services, and took into greater account the legal issues related to governmental regulations.